iPad Accessories: Camera Connections

The iPad doesn’t include a USB port or SD memory card slot for connecting a digital camera or memory card, which happen to be the most popular methods for getting pictures (and videos) from a digital camera onto a computer.

All the same, the iPad delivers a marvelous photo viewer. That’s why if you take a lot of pictures, Apple’s iPad Camera Connection Kit is worth considering. As a reminder, the Kit consists of the two components shown, either of which plugs into the 30-pin dock connector at the bottom of the iPad.

One sports a USB interface that you can use with the USB cable that came with your camera to download pictures. The other is an SD Card Reader that lets you insert the memory card that stores your pictures.

Though the official line from Apple is that this USB adapter is meant to work with the USB cable from your digital camera, connecting other devices may work, too, including readers for non-SD-type memory cards, USB speakers, keyboards, and more.

But don’t expect all your USB devices to be compatible because of the power requirements of those devices, and the fact that the requisite software drivers and such aren’t loaded on the iPad.